RBS posts first quarterly profit since Q3 2015

London: Royal Bank of Scotland swung to a better than expected first quarter profit of 259 million pounds ($334.24 million), it reported on Friday, after making a loss of nearly a billion pounds in the same period a year ago.

The result was more than the 50 million pounds forecast from the average of analysts` estimates compiled by the bank, and was the lender`s first quarterly profit since September 2015.

The bank has not made a full-year profit in nine years, as it battles restructuring costs and conduct fines resulting from its years of over-expansion leading into the 2008 financial crisis.

RBS said its core capital ratio rose to 14.1 percent from 13.4 percent ayear ago.